Blue Sand
by TropicalStormEmily
Summary: In her dream, the sand is TARDIS blue, and the Doctor admits his mistake.


Here's a DW fic I wrote a while ago. It's post-Journey's End, with TenToo and Rose. Just some dialogue that kept running through my head, formulated into a story.

Happy New Year!

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><p>They stand on Bad Wolf Bay again. But this time, the sand is blue. It's so blue, and so fine, and it's <em>sunny <em>outside. On the worst best day of her life, it's sunny. _But it wasn't sunny the first time, _she thinks. _This is just a dream_.

Rose Tyler hasn't had this dream before. But then again, she's never had _him_ before. The Defender of the Earth has her defender again, and he defends her even in her dreams. From monsters, from herself, from her demons.

The three of them stand alone this time, Jackie and the rest are nowhere to be found, probably miles down the road or on another planet, or in another galaxy. The sand is blue, and Rose Tyler is having a hard time ripping her eyes away from the glittering blue sand. It's TARDIS blue, though the TARDIS is nowhere to be seen. She supposes the Doctor will just fade out of sight like he did the first time she stood on Bad Wolf Bay. But this time she'll still be left with her Doctor.

It's confusing, still, even in her dream. But the sky is brilliantly colored, and the sand is blue, and he head is fuzzy. She feels as if she could just jump off the Earth, and float above the sand, into the sky. The only thing that keeps her anchored is their voice. It's the same voice, from two different men. If she closes her eyes, she can't tell the difference between them.

They're calmly discussing aliens and monsters, time travel and space travel. It's as if he's not about to leave the pair of them stranded there in a parallel world. But if she disregards the clothing, she doubts she could tell the two apart. They are both her Doctor. They are the man who leaves her behind, and the man who stays with her. Right now, they're speaking about the Time War. They are speaking in what she assumes is Gallifreyan, and Rose wonders how she's logged enough of it in her memory to be able to reconstruct it in a dream. As soon as she registers this thought, they switch to English.

"We've always taken care of her," the one who's leaving says.

"We've always _tried_ to take care of her," the one who's staying says.

"She deserves better than me, though…I promised Jackie…"

"And they're all here safe, yeah? We did good."

"We've stranded them here."

"But they are alive. And I'm here with her."

"I wish I could be here with her," At this, he, the one who's leaving, looks sadly at Rose. She drops her eyes to the side and bites her lower lip. She doesn't know how to feel. He's leaving, but he's staying, and she can't tell the difference between them. Or can she? It's the function of her subconscious to figure this out for her. Through this dream, she can figure out how she feels, reaffirm her choices.

"You are. You will always be here." She puts her hand on her heart and taps her chest with a sad smile." They both look at her. "You are the same man. In two bodies. You leave me, but you stay with me. I can't forgive you for leaving, but I can't not love you, because you stayed. It's okay." She trails off, and the one who's leaving begins to speak.

"Rose, I-" She stops him.

"No, it's okay. Because I love you, and you know it. I love you, Doctor." She turns to the one who's staying. "And I love _you_, Doctor."

The one who's leaving turns to go. He turns to her as he begins to fade.

"You know what, Rose Tyler?" he asks her, with tears in his eyes.

"Yeah?" her voice is breathy with unshed tears, it's a wonder she doesn't choke up.

"It needed to be said." With this he fades as he retreats, and she's left standing on the blue sand with her Doctor, the one who's staying. He turns to face her and quickly closes the gap between them. He takes both of her hands, and as they move closer, their hands are trapped between their torsos.

"I love you, Rose Tyler." She looks up at him.

"Quite right, too," she says quietly, but with a smile. He smiles at her, and leans in to kiss her.

This is the moment she wakes up. They're in the Tyler mansion, sharing her small twin bed. She likes it that way, because she doesn't want to be any farther from him right now than the mere inches apart the bed allows for. His eyes are shut, and his hair is pushed every which way from the pillow and blankets. Rose takes her hand that isn't up by her head and rakes it through his hair. Beautiful eyes open behind thick, dark lashes and blink sleepily at her. Her hand lingers behind his ear and then cups his cheek. He smiles at her and closes the six inches between their faces to give her a long kiss. Her lips linger, and Rose thinks there's nothing more beautiful than what she's feeling right now. She could fall asleep kissing him, that's how safe and comfortable she feels. But that's how she's always felt with him. So she tries to put these feelings in the kiss, and her hand moves towards his chest.

After she draws back from the kiss, he puts his arm around her, and draws her close. He kisses her forehead, and tucks her to his chest, under her chin.

"I love you," she murmurs, under the heaviness of sleep, blankets, and happiness. She falls asleep, feeling one heart beat back to her, through her palm. The last thing she hears before she drifts out of consciousness is something she's waited years to hear in person, from him. But now that their time has come, she wouldn't have it any sooner than now.

"I love you," he says.


End file.
